Corpus Christi woman says flu almost killed her

Elizabeth Lara spent over two months in the hospital after contracting the flu.

A Corpus Christi woman is recovering at home after she says the flu nearly killed her.

Elizabeth Lara, 43, was hospitalized for more than two months.

She says she first started feeling sick in November of last year. Her symptoms started with a cough and then developed into breathing problems.

"I started feeling sick and I figured it was just nothing," said Lara. "And then when I couldn't breathe, that's when I was like I need to go to the emergency."

Lara says she went to a local emergency room the weekend after Thanksgiving. She says she was immediately admitted to the hospital.

Lara says she was diagnosed with the flu and pneumonia. She says she was so sick and weak that she needed a blood transfusion and had to be sedated. She ended up sedated for about a month and says she hardly remembers the experience.

"I just remember hearing doctors talking, telling my family that they had already exhausted everything, that they had to set a date to pull the plug," she said. "And I remember my sister telling me, do you want to keep on fighting to squeeze her hand. And I did."

Eventually, Lara underwent a tracheotomy to help with her breathing and started showing signs of improvement. She was moved to an acute care hospital and after a total of eleven weeks of hospital care, Lara was finally sent home on February 9.

She's lost 40 pounds while hospitalized and is still very weak.

Before getting sick, she says she was healthy and had no underlying health problems.

Lara believes she ended up in such bad shape because she waited too long before seeking medical help for her symptoms.

She said, "When I think about it, I'm like, wow, I got a second chance of life that God gave me."

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